Andream
After working in health care as an occupational therapist (OT) for over a decade, Andream began a journey of slowing down and began a therapeutic process of creating art. She is now an art student majoring in photography at ECU. Her work centers around connection to feelings and nature, using photography within mixed media installations. She prioritizes enviro-positivity by using materials from the community that would otherwise be destined for the landfill, in the case of the portal and flag: stained sheets and worn out silk clothes, and using lighting by the sun.
Check out www.andream.art for more art and writings.
Experince Andream’s reflecting portal on July 14th and 15th from 2:30-6:30 pm PST in Meegan!
reflecting portal, an interactive art installation designed for one person at a time to experience.
Andream wanted to create a physical structure for people to climb into, to transport to another time and place, simultaneously exploring being present and connected to herself during the act of making.
In China, Wu Tao-tzu painted “a glorious landscape, with mountains, forests, clouds,
birds, men, all things / as if in nature.” Then he “opened a door in a mountain’s side and
disappeared into his painting. / Then the painting, too, faded away” (Weishaus, 2).
reflecting portal and flag are the products of a slow (months long) natural dye process. It started as textile waste, mordanted with gallnut, then alum, naturally dyed with marigold, screen-printed with natural home-made tannin “inks”, re-dipped in marigold dye pots to activate the screen-print, then sewn. reflecting portal is designed to be experienced with the sun lighting the interior pattern. The repeat pattern is a photo montage of images taken by Andream on nature walks in the otherworld that is Juan de Fuca Provincial Park on Pacheedaht Territory.
The intention of reflecting portal is to awaken a piece of childhood, a calming connection to nature, in the simplicity of intimate solo space.
Citation: Weishaus, Joel. “Being Earth: The Culture of Nature in a Post- Holocene World.” Rhizomes: Cultural Studies in Emerging Knowledge, no. 38, Jan. 2022, pp. 75–100. doi:10.20415/rhiz/038.e05. http://rhizomes.net/issue38/weishaus.html. .
